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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. scale — in music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. court — of a king
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. tube — a container
  17. court — of law
  18. mine — for digging
  19. court — for sport
  20. tear — to rip
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. scale — size or range
  23. perch — the fish
  24. tube — the underground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com